Soulful Songs (Yamaho Ni Yama Yama Andam)

‘Yamaho Ni Yama Yama Andam’ from Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari movie, composed by Maestro Ilayaraja, written by Veturi Sundararama Murthy, sung by S.P.Balasubrahmanyam and S.Janaki. Ilayaraja is one of the very few music directors who knows the way to attract people with a good catchy melodious tune and yet make it a big commercial hit. Yamaho Ni Yama Yama Andam is one of such songs. Basically, he knows the audience pulse well than any other music director and that is the reason he is considered as god of music. 'Maestro' Ilayaraja’s compositions have constantly set a benchmark and are musical milestones that set the bar for all upcoming music directors till date.

This song starts off with a peppy music giving the hint that this is going to be a fast number but then you listen singers S.P.Balasubrahmanyam and S.Janaki beautifully rendering 'Yamaho Ni Yama Yama Andam’ which takes you by surprise, a very pleasant one that is. I am damn sure that every singer who listen this song will definitely try to first hum the lines

“Phozullo nenu yamudantha vaadni, Mozullo niku mogudanti vaadni”

which come immediately after the first line. Of course, it is the beauty of the composition of these lines which makes you sing along with the song. It is composed in Mayamallava goula raaga which is the very first raaga that every person listens to when beginning to learn Carnatic music. Yes, Mayamallava goula raaga is the basic raaga that is used in all the early steps of music like Sarali swaralu, Jhantaswaralu, Alankaralu and all the other exercises done before moving to higher level i.e. Varnalu and Kritis. This Raaga is very rarely used to compose film songs. I still don't understand how a person can use such a basic raaga to create this classic masterpiece. Ilayaraja is the only person who can make such kind of experiments and also make them commercially hit numbers.

This song is composed with all basic instruments like Casio, Tabla, Kanjira, Flute and other string instruments like Guitar, Violin. I can strongly say no other singers can sing this song better than S.P.Balasubrahmanyam and S.Janaki. They always take the song tune to the next level. Especially, the stanzas were composed in a unique style where one singer will be singing the lower note tune followed by another companion singer singing the lines with higher note. This is again very rare in a song, but then it is God Maestro’s work wherein we should be now used to and expecting these stunning variations. And also, whenever S.P.Balu and Janaki sing a song, we only see the hero and heroine and it feels so natural that the actors are the singers as well. Especially, I always feel like Chiranjeevi is really humming this song when I watch this particular song on screens. That is the power of best singing pair S.P.Balasubrahmanyam and S.Janaki.

Now, let’s talk about the other exciting piece of this song, the lyrics. What can I say here? Every word is so perfectly written by Veturi that you feel that the words are part of a wonderfully formed garland. This song comes under a classic category where the song tune, singers and lyrics all come in perfect harmony to deliver a huge commercial hit. There are melodies, there are classics, there are peppy songs and then there is ‘Yamaho ni Yama Yama’ which is classic peppy melody. Evergreen tune, evergreen actors, evergreen musicians, what else can you ask? Pure bliss, you can put this audio or video in a loop and never get bored. Enjoy!